AUGUSTA, GA. — While Sweden’s Peter Hanson was shooting the round of his life Saturday at the Masters, he had to keep waiting for the roar of the crowd to die down.

Chris O'Meara / The Associated PressPeter Hanson reacts after making a birdie putt on the 17th hole Saturday during the third round of the Masters in Augusta, Ga.

From the group behind him.

That’s where fan favorite Phil Mickelson was putting on a show of his own, shooting a 30 on the back nine and sending the Augusta National patrons into a frenzy.

They’ll play together today in the final group. Hanson is the leader at 9-under par after shooting a 7-under-par 65 on Saturday. Mickelson is one shot back at 8-under after shooting a 66.

“It was one of those special kind of Masters moments I’ve been watching so many times on TV,” Hanson said of the roars reverberating through the pines after Mickelson made an eagle on the par-5 13th hole.

“It kind of helped me on 14. I’m standing in the middle of the fairway, and I feel him breathing down my neck a little bit,” said Hanson, 34, who is playing in his second Masters after missing the cut last year. “We actually had to wait quite a bit on the group behind, which is not very common, for the crowd to settle down before we could play.

“But it’s great playing in front of these fans. It’s just an amazing feeling.”

Mickelson, meanwhile, has been living these “special kind of Masters moments” for two decades, winning the tournament three times in 2004, 2006 and 2010. He never gets tired of it, though.

“I love it here, and I love nothing more than being in the last group on Sunday at the Masters. It’s the greatest thing in professional golf,” Mickelson said.

Mickelson has been the giddiest player in the field all week long, starting on Thursday when he birdied the final hole to salvage a 2-over par round of 74. At the time, he insisted he just wanted to stay alive long enough to get hot. And sure enough, he did.

Mickelson made his big move on the back nine Saturday, starting with birdies on the 10th and 12th holes, then an eagle on No. 13 and birdies on the 15th and 18th holes.

When asked how he felt during the round, Mickelson interrupted the reporter before the question was even finished.

“Awesome,” he said. “It was so much fun.”

Saturday is known as “moving day” in golf, and never was that more true than this day. While Hanson and Mickelson soared their way to the top of the leaderboard, several others dropped like a rock.

Friday leaders Fred Couples and Jason Dufner each shot 75 to fall back to 2-under par. Rory McIlroy shot a 77 to fall to 1-over. Sergio Garcia shot a 75 to fall to 1-under. Lee Westwood stayed put at 4-under with a 72.

A once-crowded leader board is now a bit spaced out, with Hanson at 9-under, Mickelson at 8-under, Louis Oosthuizen at 7-under, Bubba Watson at 6-under, Matt Kuchar at 5-under and a group of four players at 4-under.

They all remain in contention, though, at a place where birdies can come in bunches — like they did last year when Charl Schwartzel came out of nowhere to win the green jacket with birdies on the final four holes.

Big-time shots

Mickelson stressed that he feels extremely confident, that he thinks he might be putting better than he ever has in his career this year. But he said he won’t be overconfident today.

“As great and as fun a round as this was, it just makes it possible to have something really special,” Mickelson said. “I still have to go out and do it. I still have to play some great golf on a tough golf course with some tough pin placements.”

Mickelson made four outstanding shots that stood out above all others Saturday. The first two came on the 13th hole — his approach shot from more than 200 yards and the ensuing 25-foot eagle putt.

“I’ve hit that putt so many times over the years and just knew that that ball was going to curl in sideways, and I knew it was slow up that hill, and the ball just crept over the lip,” Mickelson said. “It was a great feeling to see that one go. That was a big momentum change right there.”

Then came a gutsy flop shot from behind the 15th green to a hole location on the edge of a steep hill. It was the kind of delicate pitch that few other players would try — much less pull off.

Finally, Mickelson wrapped his approach shot on the 18th hole around a tree from the right side of the fairway to set up his third consecutive birdie on the difficult finishing hole.

Mickelson’s only regret Saturday was finding out afterward that his performance energized Hanson.

“Well, I’m sorry I was helping him out. Didn’t look like he needed it,” joked Mickelson, who said he was somewhat motivated himself by Hanson. “I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I need to keep birdieing to keep pace.’ He played phenomenally. It’s very difficult to follow those kinds of birdies.”

Familiar faces

Mickelson and Hanson have gotten to know each other well. They played together for the first two rounds of this tournament on Thursday and Friday. And in 2010, they faced each other in the singles matches of the Ryder Cup, where Hanson admitted that “Phil killed me.”

To the more casual viewers, though, Hanson will just be the “other guy” in today’s final pairing.

Hanson has been building an impressive resume in recent years. He has five international victories in his career, including two in 2010, which helped him earn a spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team. Last year he finished tied for seventh in the U.S. Open, his best finish in a major. Then earlier this year, he reached the quarterfinals of the QGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and finished tied for fourth at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

His last two events were less impressive, though — a tie for 55th at the Transitions Championship and a missed cut at the Shell Houston Open last week.

When asked what it’s going to be like for him to try and sleep Saturday night while leading the Masters, Hanson admitted, “I don’t know.”

“It’s going to be tough. It’s a new situation to me,” said Hanson, who said his biggest challenge will be managing his emotions. “I think you have to get into this kind of environment to actually know how you’re going to handle it, and I think that’s going to be a big, big test for me.”

Hanson already has learned one lesson from his limited experiences playing alongside Mickelson, though.

“I know a one-shot lead over Mickelson is pretty much nothing,” he said.

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Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.